Wire-stretcher



(No Model.)

W. D. DILLER. WIRE STRETGHER.

No. 596,987. Patented Jan. 11,1898.

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' spective view of the frame.

UNITED STATES ATENT Fries.

W'IIJLIAMS D. DILLER, OF BOILING SPRINGS, PENNSYLVANIA.

WlRE-STRETCHER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 596,987, dated January 1 l, 1898. Application filed October 30, 189 7. Serial No. 656,933. (No model.)

To all rah/01m it may concern:

Beit known that I, WILLIAMS D. DILLER, a citizen of the United States, residingat Boiling Springs, in the county of Cumberland and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful ire-Stretcher, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvementsin wire-stretchers.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of wire-stretchers and to provide a simple, inexpensive, and efficient one designed to be mounted on a fencepost and capable of enabling a fence-wire to be readily stretched to the desired tension.

A further object of the invention is to improve the construction of a ratchet device for holding the Windlass shaft or reel and also to enable any one of the series of wire-stretchers of a post to be removed without detaching all of those above it.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts, as hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective View of a wire-stretcher constructed in accordance with this invention and shown applied to a post. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view. Fig. 3 is a detail per- Fig. a is a similar view of the ratchet-wheel.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in the several figures of the drawings.

l designates a ring or band designed to encircle a post, as illustrated in, Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings, but instead of being round, as shown, it may be of any other desired shape to conform to the configuration of the post to which it is to be applied. The ring is provided with a pair of lugs 2, arranged at right angles to each other and having the frames 3 of a pair of wire-stretchers detachably secured to them.

In the accompanying drawings the wirestretchers are shown arranged on a cornerpost, but when the wire-stretcher is not mounted on a corner-post the ring or band will be provided with one lug only, or the lugs may be arranged. at diametrically opposite points to enable wire-stretchers to be arranged in such positions at opposite sides of a fencepost. The frame 3, which consists of a rectangular body portion and upper and lower ears or flanges at and 5, is provided in its body portion with a socket to receive the lug 2, and the inner edges of the frame are rounded to conform to the configuration of the band or ring. The frame and the lug are provided with registering perforations to receive a vertical pin 6, which detaohably secures the wirestretcher to the ring or band, and should any one of a series of wire-stretchers of a fencepost become broken it may be readily de.

tached by simply'removing the pin 6 without necessitating the removal of all those wirestretchers which are above it on the post, as would be the case were the wire-stretoher integral or permanently fixed to the ring or band.

The upper and lower ears or flanges 4 and 5 are provided with bearing-openings to receive a vertical shaft 7, which has its lower end reduced to form a shoulder to rest upon the upper face of the lower ear or flange 5, whereby the vertical shaft is supported in the frame of the Wirestretcher. The upper ear or flange, which is circular, is provided on its upper face with an annular series of upwardlyextending ratchet-teetl1,which cooperate with and are engaged by corresponding teeth of a ratchet-wheel S. The upper portion of the shaft is squared and the ratchet-wheel is provided with a rectangular opening and loosely fits the shaft, so as to be capable of vertical movement thereon. The ratchet-wheel operates by gravity and engages the ratchet-teeth of the frame to lock the shaft against backward rotation; but it is adapted to move upward on the same to permit its teeth to ride over those of the frame when its shaft is rotated forward.

The shaft is provided with a perforation to receive a fence -wire, and by disposing the shaft vertically the wire is retained in proper position and does not wind out of plumb.

It will be seen that the wi re-stretcher is simple, strong, and durable, that it is positive and reliable in operation, and that the shaft is arranged in convenient position for wind mg. wheel automatic-ally engages the teeth of the It will also be apparent that the ratchetframe, that a fence-Wire cannot Wind out of plumb, and that the wire-stretcher is readily removable from a fence-post and does not necessitate the removal of all those Wirestretchers above it.

\ What is claimed is- 1. In a Wire-stretcher, the combination of a ring or band provided with a lug, a frame having a socket to receive said lug and provided With perforated ears or flanges, a Windingshaft journaled in the ears or flanges, a pin passing throughregistering perforations of the frame and the lug and detachably connecting the same, and a ratchet for holding the Winding-shaft against backward movement, substantially as described.

2. In a wire-stretcher, the combination of a ring or band, a frame detachably secured to the same and provided with upper and lower horizontal ears or flanges, the upper ear or flange being provided at its upper face With ratchet-teeth, a vertical shaft journaled in bearing-openings of the ears or flanges and having a polygonal upper portion, and a ratchet wheel provided at its lower face with ratchet-teeth to engage those of the frame and havinga polygonal opening to receive the upper portion of the shaft, substantially as and for the purpose described.

A Wire-stretcher comprising a frame having upper and lower ears the upper ear being provided with ratchet-teeth, a vertical shaft having a step bearing in the frame, and a ratchet-Wheel slidingly mounted on the shaft and held by gravity in engagement with the said ratchet-teeth, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

\VILLIAMS D. DILLER. 

